‘Little’ Darth Vader to have open heart surgery

Cheering for Darth Vader turns all of Star Wars mythology on its head, but many people are pulling for Max Page, the 7-year-old boy who portrayed the pint-sized Sith lord in Volkswagen’s memorable Super Bowl commercial from 2011.

Cheering for Darth Vader turns all of Star Wars mythology on its head, but many people are pulling for Max Page, the 7-year-old boy who portrayed the pint-sized Sith lord in Volkswagen’s memorable Super Bowl commercial from 2011.

Born with a congenital heart defect, Page is slated to undergo surgery on Thursday to repair a hole in his heart and replace his pulmonary valve.

Page has appeared on the Today Show, talking about the ailment and worked with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, helping to raise money for other children with heart defects

Page’s got a taste of fame from the 2011 car commercial where dressed as a young Vader, he walks around the house trying to move things with the Force.

Deutsch LA, the ad agency that created the spot, released portions of an email from his Page’s parents, talking about his fears as he prepares for the medical procedure:

“Initially, Max was crying and repeating how scared how he was. We unpeeled the layers by asking what exactly he was afraid of and tackled each issue as he could verbalize it. Blood draws, spending the night in the hospital and hurting are the big three. He was also very sad that summer would be in rest in recovery instead of playing baseball, golf and traveling …

“Mighty Max wants me to include one more thing — one of the lines he uses when he speaks to groups.

“Kids, if you use your FORCE and dream big, you can achieve anything. We may be small — but we’re mighty!”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.